Today at a press conference at the Embassy of Denmark in Hanoi, the Danish ambassador and chairman of the Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF), Mr. Peter Lysholt Hansen, presented “Paintings” as the theme for this year’s CDEF Talent Prize.
The annually awarded CDEF Talent Prize wishes to cherish young talents in various fields of arts and by this provide direct support to contemporary artists and performances in Vietnam. This year’s competition seeks to find original, unique and creative artists and to promote innovativeness in the field of painting.
Speaking at the event, Danish ambassador and chairman of the CDEF, Mr. Peter Lysholt Hansen, said: “Vietnam has many talented and unique artists and during my time in Vietnam, the contemporary art scene has indeed evolved tremendously. With the Talent Prize 2010 in Painting, we wish to give the young artist a chance to get away from the commercial art practices and to encourage them to develop their own techniques and style”.
Judges for the competition includes well-respected art experts Ms. Natalia Kraevskaia, an expert on Vietnamese art and owner of salon Natasha, artist Lê Quang Đỉnh, a well known Vietnamese-American artist based in Ho Chi Minh City and the establisher of San Art independent artist space, and Ms. Malene Natascha Ratcliffe, a Danish curator and director of development at Den Frie, Centre of Contemporary art in Denmark.
The jury’s job will be to select the 8 best artists out of all applications received. The artworks from the shortlisted candidates will be exhibited in Hanoi 2 weeks in October 2010 during which the voting for the best artists will be conducted from the website www.cuocthitainang2010.com.
The winner, chosen by the public, will be announced on the last day of October. The prize will be on the amount of 3700 USD, of which 1000 USD will be handed in cash to the winner; the remaining 2700 USD will be used to organize a solo exhibition for the artist after the competition.
